The Web: Traffic 'toll' contentious

CHICAGO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The surviving Baby Bells -- Verizon, Bell South and AT&T/SBC -- have disclosed that they may someday charge new fees to digital businesses, sites like Google and Yahoo!, that generate substantial traffic on the Internet. The explicit rationale? These firms are taking up too much bandwidth. But telecom experts tell United Press International's The Web that they are worried that such a "toll road" could take a toll on the future growth of the Internet.

"The mere mention of the words 'toll road' sound like government regulation is right behind," Chris Consorte, president and chief executive officer of Integrated Direct LLC, an interactive online ad agency based in New York, told The Web. "The minute we're talking about a bandwidth fee is the minute entrepreneurs begin to second-think great ideas and developing their businesses." By Gene Koprowski